All afternoon at the second half of this past weekend’s Doheny Days festival it seemed the talent on display had just stumbled in from the shore after some bewildering journey, unsure where they had landed.

“Sorry, just woke up, just woke up,” Alex Ebert warned the crowd as those loveable L.A. ragamuffins Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes ambled on stage in typically out of-it fashion, like someone just evicted Dylan’s ’75 Rolling Thunder Revue from a squatter’s commune.

Then there was David Hinds, leader of veteran English reggae band Steel Pulse, the only import in this otherwise heavily West Coast lineup. He was even more disoriented: “I don’t even know where I am. All I know is we are somewhere between San Diego and Los Angeles.”

He quickly led his group into “I Can’t Stand It,” a hearty bouncer from the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing – the “it” in question being “the heat,” of which there was plenty Sunday afternoon in Dana Point. The sun occasionally ducked behind spotty cloud covering that only added humidity and a few weird raindrops to an otherwise sweaty atmosphere that didn’t stop baking until nightfall.

Hinds and his band, a recurring O.C. favorite that has played just about every venue this locale has to offer, were spot-on as usual, enlivening the crowd right off the bat with “Roller Skates” and strengthening their own resolve as the 75-minute set cruised along, hitting high points with some of their most outspoken selections: “Worth His Weight in Gold (Rally Round),” “No More Weapons,” “Drug Squad.” They can conjure the same fire as Rage Against the Machine (albeit in far more chill manner) because they’ve been fighting that same good fight for more than three decades.

But the temperature inside the oversize pouch holding Hinds’ mighty dreadlocks in place must have temporarily melted a few circuits in the process. “So much reggae,” he observed, “and it’s a rock ’n’ roll concert, right?”

Not quite. Day 1 had played out like one of KCRW’s Sounds Eclectic evenings expanded and transplanted to a beautiful day at the beach (heat notwithstanding), with disparate artists such as Santigold, Jimmy Eat World and Delta Spirit gelling under an all-genres-welcome umbrella put up by headliner Jane’s Addiction. Day 2, however, was essentially two festivals occurring simultaneously, with an appetizer of local fare (entrance music from Jeramiah Red and Midnight Hour) on the smaller Wahoo’s side stage.

At one end of the woodsy park just steps away from the waves was a fairly memorable Reggae Sunsplash Jr. boasting a star turn from Santa Barbara breakout band Rebelution, which has developed one of the fastest-growing audiences of any Cali band from Humboldt to Chula Vista.

I’ve seen them before, and I’ve also seen too many others just like ’em in the past decade. Despite very evident chops (check the Van Halen shredding on guitar and keyboards) and their penchant for almost Phish-y change-ups and shifts in tempo, I find their one long blunted medley hopelessly generic when stacked against a more authentic superior like Steel Pulse. (I’d have preferred to catch ska purists the Aggrolites instead, but they were up against Edward Sharpe on the main stage.)

You might think: “Why weren’t their set times flip-flopped?” Doing so would have been a mistake. This crowd was predominantly young and high and ready for slow skankin’ on the grass.

So it wasn’t surprising that they peacefully (if also rudely by day’s end) wandered over to the other festival that took place at Doheny State Beach on Sunday. Let’s call that one the Shiny Happy Momentary Hippie Love-In Express of the Road, pulling in from PCH to uplift souls, expand minds and dazzle eyes in a post-heat glow.

All it was missing was Mumford & Sons, maybe the Avett Brothers. Toss in one or the other and that really would have fulfilled Wayne Coyne’s belief that this was indeed “the greatest night at the end of the summer that there could ever be.” Instead, it was exactly what it should have been: a delicious slice of neo-folk-pop (abetted by a fine turn from another L.A. band, Milo Greene) plus a heavy helping of psych-rock, with the indefatigably exuberant Flaming Lips leading a lineup like you might see at the Bowl or the Greek on a hot August night, only played out immeasurably better (and definitely longer) outside near the sand.

But you could tell plenty of people on-hand didn’t have a clue about the Lips, nor did they stick around long enough to connect the dots that, oh hey, this is that band that does “She Don’t Use Jelly” and one of the finest songs in the English language, “Do You Realize??”

I heard this out of at least a half-dozen wasted faces: “Are they any good?”

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert performs on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne pumps up the crowd on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips blast off amid clouds of confetti on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips guitarist Steven Drozd smiles during the show on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips bassist Michael Ivins performs on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips perform on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne crowd-surfs in his giant bubble on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips rock the main stage on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
The Flaming Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne sings to his audience on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
A young Flaming Lips fan prepares for the show on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Rebelution fans show off painted faces on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Rebelution fans have a blast on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Rebelution brings more reggae on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Rebelution performs on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Edward Sharpe fans groove joyfully on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Edward Sharpe fans dance to the music on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert banters with the crowd on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros vocalists Jade Castrinos and Alex Ebert share a tender moment on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert launches into the audience on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Fans get amped for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Steel Pulse's Selwyn Brown (right) performs on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Father-and-daugher Steel Pulse fans enjoy the show on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Steel Pulse gets the reggae going on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Steel Pulse frontman David Hinds performs on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
Milo Greene opens the main stage on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER
L.A. band Milo Greene performs on Sunday during the second half of the annual Doheny Days festival in Dana Point. DAVID HALL, FOR THE REGISTER

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